A/N: This is the last of these stupid Author's Reviews, but I think I'm gonna slow down a bit. A good story equires thought and now that i've gotten the "Intro" out of the way, I actually need to plan out the rest of the story. But anyway, thanks for reading!
It was a sunny day at the cemetery. People gathered to say goodbye to his parents. They all wore diamonds and jewels, multiple-hundred dollar dresses and tuxes, and traveled in posh limos. Jack had no place among this crowd.
"Where's Jack?" one of the patrons asked.
"He wouldn't come," his caretaker sighed.
"A strange one, he is," a man responded, "The Spicer's were good people. How they ended up with a boy like him amazes me. Spoiled brat."
"He's hurting right now…" the woman tried to explain, in more of an attempt to defend herself than Jack.
"No reason to be a recluse," the man mumbled as he walked off with his flute of champagne.
The woman sighed and rubbed the lip of her glass. Looking out at the horizon, she saw four forms cresting the hill before her. Everyone that had been invited was here.
"Funeral crashers," she growled.
"You really think this is okay?" she heard one of them say.
"No," she barked, "It isn't."
"Rai!" Kimiko snarled.
"Can I help you… children?" the woman said as she approached them.
"Yeah, can you tell us if we're in the right cemetery?" Rai said smartly; Kimiko jabbed him harshly with her elbow.
"We're… friends of Jack's…" she tried to explain.
The woman looked over the unusually group. A stocky cowboy, a tall, slim young man, a shorter oriental girl, and a… um… yellow cheese puff.
"Jack's friends?" she questioned, "As far as I know, Jack doesn't have any friends."
"Well… He doesn't really know it…" Clay said slowly.
"Yeah," Rai snickered, "We didn't even know until a few days ago." He was met with another violent jab from Kimiko.
"Is Jack here?" Kimiko asked.
The woman shook her head, "He doesn't even have the decency to pay his parents some respect. He really is quite a brat."
The monks looked nervously amongst themselves.
"But if you wish to stay anyway," the woman continued, "there's some punch on the back of that truck over there."
"Ooo, punch," Rai exclaimed, "Don't mind if I do!"
"Bring us all back some," Kimiko called after him.
"It's hot out here," Clay said slowly.
"No cute euphemisms?" Kimiko asked.
"Too tired to really come up with one."
They wandered beneath a tall tree and sat under its shade.
"Much better," Clay sighed.
A twig above them snapped and fell onto Kimiko's lap. Looking up, she saw nothing. Taking the twig up in her fingers she turned to Clay.
"I was really hoping that he'd be here…"
"Yeah," Clay sighed, "We smuggled the Wu and everything."
Another limb snapped and landed at Clay's feet.
"Something's up there," the said as he looked up into the tree.
"Shh," Omi put a finger to his lips, "Listen."
Music. The soft sound of loud music leaking from headphones came down from the tree's branches. Kimiko smirked as she motioned to Clay. Kimiko stood up and went to the other side of the tree. Up in the branches sat a body.
"He's up in the tree!" she laughed quietly. "Jack," she called out loud, but he couldn't hear her over his music. "Shake the tree, Clay," she whispered.
With a light touch, the tree shook and Jack looked down. Peaking over his goggles he saw Kimiko standing at the base of the tree.
Pausing his music, he asked, "Kimiko? What are you doing here?"
"We wanted to see how you were doing…"
"'We?'"
"Yeah," Kimiko looked around the base of the tree, "Clay?" he was gone.
"Well, howdy, partner!"
Jack spun around to find Clay sitting on the branch behind him.
"Alright, what do you want from me? I gave you all the Wu. If you didn't find them all, that's your problem."
"No," kimiko sighed, "Blue isn't really your color, by the way."
"I know. I didn't exactly pick it out."
"I've got drinks," they heard Raimundo say from the ground, "Guys?"
"We're up here," Kimiko snickered.
"So, I have to climb a tree with four glasses of punch?"
Clay and Kimiko hung upside-down from the tree and took the drinks from Rai. Kimiko offered a cup to Jack who gently turned her down.
"What're you all doing up here?"Raiasked as he reached the branch beside Kimiko.
"Talking to Jack."
"He's here?"
Jack turned to Rai.
"Boy," Rai chuckled, "You look a lot different without all your girly make-up." Kimiko glared at him.
Jack shrugged, "Yeah. I feel almost naked."
"Thanks for the visual," Kimiko shuddered involuntarily .
"So what are you doing up in a tree, Jack Spicer?" Omi asked.
"Hiding."
"Oh, yes," Omi glowed, "Hiding is your specialty. In times of need, one can truly master their special abilities."
Kimiko smacked Omi upside the head.
"What did I do?"
"Just stop trying to help, Omi."
Jack sighed.
"From what?" Kimiko asked.
"Hm?"
"Who are you hiding from?"
"Them," Jack waved his hand before him at the people gathered below.
"Why?"
"Because I hate them. Why do you care?"
"Don't know, really," Raimundo snickered. Kimiko was about to elbow him, but he flinched and she smacked him in the head.
"D'ya ever plan on coming back to the world of Shen Gong Wu?" Clay asked.
Jack froze, "I, uh… Um… No…"
"You sure?" Kimiko asked gently.
"I wasn't exactly any good at it…" he trailed off.
"Step one to recovery is always admitting your faults," Raimundo explained.
Kimiko was about to hit him when Jack stopped her, "No, he's right."
"What about robots?" she asked.
"I'm over that too."
"Guess things really have changed," Kimiko sighed, a bit disappointed.
"Yeah…"
"But you still have the fly-bot," Raimundo pointed out.
"It's all I have left. It and the goggles. My old clothes are lying in a heap at the bottom of my closet. Sometimes I miss them, sometimes I don't."
"Well, for your information, you looked far better in black than you do in blue," Kimiko smiled.
"That's true," Rai added.
Jack sighed and thought a moment before finally saying, "Why are you here?"
The monks looked nervously amongst themselves.
"Cuz we miss ya'," Clay said suddenly.
"Clay's right," Kimiko added, "We miss having you around as a pest."
Jack scoffed.
"So, since you aren't against us anymore, and you seem to have mellowed out, for now… What I'm saying is… Um… You know… Ugh... Friends?" Kimiko held her hand out to Jack.
Jack turned around fully on his branch, a look of false seriousness smathered on his face, "And what do I, Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius, get out of this relationship?"
"Some pretty descent friends," Clay responded.
"Yeah, and you can visit us at the temple anytime you want," Kimiko chimed.
"A chance to fight for good?"
Everyone turned to Omi.
"Omi," Kimiko said gently, "We're befriending him, not converting him."
"Besides," Jack sighed, "I'd rather just stay out of all that good and evil stuff for now," his voice wavered a bit.
"Or you can stay with us if you want…" Kimiko offered, "Your guardian doesn't exactly seem like a verykind person."
"As much as I'd love to take you up on that offer," Jack shrugged, "You have no reason to trust me."
"That's true, too…"
Raimundo was knocked from the tree.
There was an awkward silence.
"How's about we discuss all this over some ice cream?" Clay announced as he turned to Jack, "You owe us a Sunday anyway…"
Jack smiled sheepishly.
"'Kay, but I need to get out of this damn thing first," he said as he tugged at the suit.